Chapter 377: Someone

"Give you another ten years, you still won't see any of the real stuff."

With a casual remark from the Beile, the living room of the villa fell into an eerie silence.

Ai Zhixin, who had been glowing with pride moments before, froze in place, his face turning a deep purplish-red.

He truly didn't understand—and he was terrified—unable to fathom where he had gone wrong to earn such a damning judgment from his father.

Looking around at everyone's eyes, all except his mother brimmed with mockery and schadenfreude; sweat began dripping unnoticed from Ai Zhixin's forehead.

Having survived in this family for thirty years, Ai Zhixin knew these people's nature all too well: every word his father spoke would be twisted by them into countless interpretations, used as justification for their favoritism and cruelty.

Ai Zhixin could already picture it: if he failed to offer a reasonable explanation immediately, the Second Madam, who controlled the family's finances, would delay his and his mother's loan payment this month.

Ai Zhixin remembered how, as a child, he and his parents had come to the Tower, and after exhausting every effort to secure Tower status, the family was left with almost no money.

Without money, you couldn't maintain a superior life in the Tower, so the shrewd Beile had invented a "family loan" system.

Everyone in the family who could borrow was forced to take out loans, then the borrowed money was funneled into family businesses; each month, the business profits first repaid the loans, and only the remainder supported the entire household's living expenses.

After years of development, the Ai family acquired several small shops in San Francisco and started other minor businesses.

But the Beile, who had once run loan-sharking operations in the mainland, either couldn't understand the Tower's banking methods—or deliberately ignored them; over the years, while business barely scraped by, the loans never got fully repaid.

Ai Zhixin believed this was, in fact, a financial control tactic: anyone who disobeyed would find their loans never settled by the family.

In the Tower, owing the bank money was worse than angering a gang.

That's why Ai Zhixin had just tried to beg for a reward—to shed his chains—but now it looked like he was finished.

"Father, give me a little more time. I only considered how loyal the Guan brothers have been these years, so I was too lenient with them."

"When I return this time, I'll make them understand our patience has limits—if he keeps playing coy with me, I'll deal with him."

"Don't you dare," the Beile said with a faint smile. "If you push them too hard, they'll deal with you first."

Ai Zhixin's face darkened further. He quickly shook his head. "No, Father. I've had arguments with the Guan brothers in Beijing before, but in the end, didn't they still hand over a few items? If there's one, there'll be a second."

"Enough. Don't talk about this anymore."

The Beile cut off his son's words, leaned back against the sofa with closed eyes, thought for a long while, then asked: "Xiao Xin, I asked you to invite Guan Da to the Tower—what did he say?"

Ai Zhixin pursed his lips, speaking with a guilty tone: "The Guan brothers all said they're too old, too attached to their homeland, and they miss you deeply—they hope you'll return to Beijing so they can serve you."

"Ha. Serve me."

The Beile gave a light laugh. "They're just hoping I die. Serve me? If I went back to Beijing, they'd probably serve me two taels of arsenic."

Everyone looked at each other, stunned.

Just recently, when the family sent Ai Zhixin back to the mainland, the Beile and the First Madam had both praised the Guan brothers as loyal and trustworthy, certain they'd help the family regain its former glory—how had they suddenly turned 180 degrees?

The Second Madam glanced at Ai Zhixin and snapped sharply: "Those two dog servants are audacious beyond belief. We invited them to share our wealth, and they actually refuse? Xiao Xin, didn't you convey your father's message to them? You can't even handle such a simple task—why did you volunteer for this job in the first place? Useless and destructive."

Ai Zhixin's stomach churned as if he'd swallowed a rotting chocolate bar.

This Second Madam had once been a concubine; only after the death of the Beile's original wife had she defeated the other two sisters and become his legal wife.

Now, the family's few shops were all managed by her and her children; after loan repayments, they received the first share of profits, while people like Ai Zhixin got virtually nothing.

Yet even after all this, they still seized every chance to crush the children of the other branches.

Just now, it was clearly the Guan brothers' fault, yet she twisted it into a charge of incompetence against him—what possible benefit did stepping on him bring her?

Ai Zhixin seethed inside, but his mother wasn't having it.

"Second Sister speaks truly—Xiao Xin is still too young. Why not send Xiao Yi next time? He met the Guan brothers as a child; they'd remember old ties and give him more face."

"Do we need two servants to give us face? Fourth Sister, you've regressed terribly," the First Madam snapped. "Besides, you know Xiao Yi is already managing the family business—he's swamped. Now you want him to return to the mainland? What's your real motive?"

"What motive could I have? If you think Xiao Xin's unfit and won't let Xiao Yi go, then who do you suggest? Xiao Zhi? Xiao Li? Or should the Master go himself?"

The senior madam angrily said, "Besides, you know Xiao Yi is currently managing the family's business and is swamped with work—yet you want him to return to the mainland. What's your motive behind this suggestion?"

The Second Madam, unmoved by the Fourth Madam's veiled barb, merely let out a cold snort. "Do you really think you need to worry about this? The Master will decide. You just listen."

The Fourth Madam opened her mouth to retort, but the Beile's gaze pinned her down—she fell silent immediately.

In this free world of the Tower, the Beile had turned this entire family into a feudal household—his power was unimaginable.

Yet the Beile didn't rebuke the Fourth Madam. Instead, he looked around the room and asked: "Who among you is willing to go to the mainland and retrieve the family's hidden treasures?"

No one spoke. Not a single person dared to step forward.

However, the Beile did not reprimand the fourth madam; instead, he asked the people in the parlor, "Who among you is willing to go to the mainland and retrieve the family's hidden treasures?"

"Father, I'm negotiating a deal with those South Koreans—I can't leave right now."

"What about Xiao Li?"

"Father, the doctor suspects a tumor in my abdomen—I'm waiting for a follow-up scan."

Everyone claimed they had no time to return to the mainland.

Over the past two years, they'd all inquired about conditions on the mainland and actively contacted mainland students studying in the Tower, trying to uncover the truth.

From news reports, the mainland had changed dramatically—but the behavior of those students gave these struggling Tower residents a powerful sense of superiority.

Most students were awestruck by the Tower's living standards and openly expressed their desire to stay.

Clearly, the mainland was far inferior to the Tower. Here, even if they did nothing, they still had income—they could still eat bread.

Only someone like Ai Zhixin, who barely benefited from family income, would risk returning to the mainland for a chance.

"Oh, since none of you have time to go…"

The Beile glanced at them all, speaking calmly: "From now on, Xiao Xin will handle all mainland affairs. No one else is to interfere. Whoever reaches out—I'll break their hand."

"Master, this isn't appropriate—the family rules—"

The Beile glanced at the group and said coolly, "From now on, matters concerning the mainland will be under Xiao Xin's control. No one else is to interfere—anyone who does will have their hands broken."

The First Madam had barely spoken half her sentence when her husband cut her off coldly; she immediately lowered her head and fell silent. Though she now controlled the family's finances, the Third and Fourth Madams could replace her any time.

"No one here is any use. If Xiao Ren were still alive, would I need to worry about this?"

The Beile stood up, pointing at the Tang tri-color on the coffee table: "Xiao Xin, take this. Come with me to the study."

As Ai Zhixin picked up the Tang tri-color, his hands trembled. He turned to look at his mother, nodded firmly, and followed his father out of the living room.

The Fourth Madam even shed tears of excitement.

In this rigid household, only a "true son" was granted access to the Beile's study—she, the Fourth Madam, had never had that privilege.

On this mother-and-son pair, all eyes converged—filled with envy, admiration, and resentment.

Cowards are like this: when action is needed, they all shrink back, terrified of danger.

But when they see some reckless fool step forward and snatch the meat, they regret not being brave enough—wondering why they let that fool take what should have been theirs.

Inside the study, the Beile told Ai Zhixin to sit, then looked him steadily in the eyes. "Tell me exactly what happened with the Guan brothers. Speak the truth. Don't try to be clever."

Under his father's gaze, Ai Zhixin's heart lurched. All the carefully prepared excuses he'd rehearsed for days suddenly vanished from his mind.

"Father, when I reached Beijing, the Guan brothers were initially very warm to me—but later we clashed. I showed them my Tower passport and intimidated them."

Unconsciously, Ai Zhixin revealed most of the truth—only his own hidden motives remained unspoken.

"So according to you, the Guan brothers have developed their own agenda and won't hand over the items willingly."

The Beile, after listening, confidently deduced the truth. Then he asked Ai Zhixin: "During your time back, did you figure out who we should ally with to seize opportunities in the mainland's reform and opening?"

"Ally with who? Ally with who?"

Ai Zhixin grew anxious—but the more anxious he became, the harder it was to think.

His family's upbringing had always taught him: cling to one powerful patron, then you can lord over others.

Previously, they'd clung to the Japanese and enjoyed power for years. Now, returning to the mainland—whom should they follow?

Under his father's oppressive gaze, Ai Zhixin suddenly had an insight: "Father, the mainland's situation is different now. They welcome people like us back—but only if we invest. As long as we have foreign currency, we get special treatment and access to high-level people."

The Beile narrowed his eyes. "How much investment is needed to access high-level people?"

Ai Zhixin swallowed hard. "At least three to five hundred thousand U. . dollars. One million is safest."

The Beile smiled. "One million U. . dollars? That's no small sum."

Ai Zhixin glanced at his father, whispering: "Father, this Tang tri-color should fetch a good price, right? I saw a Tang antique sold for over a million U. . dollars at Sotheby's."

The Beile nodded, his expression sly. "Correct—if this Tang tri-color is real, it's worth a million or so. But it's fake."

Ai Zhixin leapt to his feet in shock: "What? It's fake? But I had it checked! Father, I didn't know!"

The Beile waved him back down. "Don't panic. This piece is well-made. Unless I'd seen it, no one else would've noticed. It's not your fault."

"But… but what do we do now? The Guan brothers deserve to die!"

Ai Zhixin was furious—mainly because if this Tang tri-color was fake, could his own hidden bronze incense burner possibly be real?

But the Beile acted as if nothing were wrong. "We'll deal with killing or not later. Right now, let's discuss this: you'll return as an investor. Can you handle it?"

Ai Zhixin stared blankly for a long time, then said: "Father, I'm confident I can do it—but we don't have that kind of capital."

"Capital? Someone else will provide it."

But the Beile acted as if nothing had happened and said, "We'll decide whether to kill him or not later. For now, let's discuss having you return as an investor—can you, Xiao Xin, handle it with confidence?"

Ai Zhixin stared in shock for a long while before saying, "Father, I'm confident I can do it, but we don't have that much capital!"

"Capital? Naturally, someone else is footing the bill!"

(End of Chapter)